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Could micro payments save the news business?
Comments
ITunes notwithstanding, I'm highly skeptical of micropayments. The literature on human decision making generally shows that we don't like repeatedly incurring small costs, as compared to making a single decision to spend a lot of money. That's why amusement parks offer pay-on-price admission, or why we'll buy a car rather than repeatedly use taxis or car rentals.
But I suppose every advocate of micropayments thinks they can extrapolate from iTunes. :-)
Hi Daniel:
The answer depends on a lot of factors I outlined here. Is the content worth paying for? On iTunes it certainly is for a number of reasons including the fact it makes it easier to get onto the iPod and the content is desirable. If a device like the Kindle takes off, and I think it will eventually (especially if Apple gets in the game) we will begin see subscription (one time payment model you allude to), and micro payment content for one-off stuff like buying a magazine at the newsstand. I don't think it's a panacea, but I do think it can provide an income stream.






